I love the way random thoughts come, stir up the soup in my brain, lead to other thoughts and then go. I was eating my gluten-free pasta. I checked the label to confirm I didn’t buy Cardboard Flavour, but no, I didn’t. I gave some to the cats – false generosity, I know, like celebrities … Read moreRandom thoughts and Amazon Prime

I’ve seen on social media some unthinking and hate-fuelled responses to the news that Shamima Begum wants to return to the UK. We don’t live in a country where kids who do stupid, dangerous and offensive things are later strung up as adults. Children do commit acts of murder and rape but efforts are made … Read moreHate in response to hate: dangerous and dumb

Until a few days ago, I had no idea Disney banned its Song of the South film and has never released it on DVD, blu-ray or digital. The last time it was shown was in the year of its 40th anniversary, 1986. It was a huge hit and the studio’s first-ever live action and animation … Read moreSong of the South: the Disney film you might never see again

Sad to witness that work began today on demolishing the big roundabout as you drive into Keighley from Skipton. The reason for my sorrow was the sight of a great many trees cut down, flat to the ground, their stumps white and raw. Like the roundabouts in Skipton, and probably many other places, this one was … Read moreRoundabouts, rabbits, insects and the shit we’re in

Are we all thought to be completely stupid blank sheets for the Tories and their friends to write what they want into our brains? First up this week, Vince Cable – a man painted by the media, including the supposedly left-wing Guardian – as a person with integrity – announces that the Lib Dems will … Read moreVince Cable colluding with Mrs May

Back when I was a kid, when we had phones on street corners, you really had to know what you wanted to say to the person on the other end of the line before you made the call. It was 10p a minute, after all, and you knew you couldn’t stay on there long even … Read morePhones and flashers: some 1970s childhood memories

Many people at the Culture Club gig I went to last night watched the whole thing through their smartphone screens, recording it. Now, professional cameras with zoom lenses are banned but you can pinch and zoom in using a smartphone but it’s software- assisted, which basically means the result is blurred – the closer you … Read moreSmartphone stupid

For Black Friday, the 5-star-rated ebook of myfibromyalgia: one man’s experience of living with chronic illness is just £1.99 instead of £5.99. The whopping discount is available in currencies across all Amazon territories. The price drop is for 24 hours only, so don’t miss out and do tell all your friends in fibro and invisible … Read moreAmazing Black Friday deal on myfibromyalgia ebook

recent posts

A student playwright working with a chain-smoking gothic diva, a perpetual stoner, a director who likes Elaine Paige and a nymphomaniac, polyamorous self-harmer. What could possibly go wrong? Available in paperback and for Amazon Kindle.

The ideal introduction to keeping chickens as pets in towns and cities. Everything the prospective urban chicken-keeper needs to know is covered. Available in large-format glossy paperback, ebook for Amazon Kindle, epub for other e-readers and as an interactive iBook for Apple devices.

I'm the author of myfibromyalgia: one man's experience of living with chronic illness, available in ebook and paperback from July 2018. I also wrote the bestselling Chickens As Pets - Your Definitive Guide to Keeping Pet Chickens, available in print, ebook and as an interactive iBook for Apple devices. My first novel WOOF! is available in paperback and ebook. I have a few poetry collections out as well, and you can read my latest poems on Tumblr.
I live in Yorkshire, England, where I maintain a happy flock of animals that includes chickens, cats and two long-lived terrapins.
Anything else you want to know, please ask.